Acorn User 4/AUCD4.iso/_aacade/website/pd/holocaust/!Holocaust/Docs/Manual

Text File | 1998-01-19 | 18KB | 425 lines

HOLOCAUST 2

© 1997 Graham Crockford
EMail: [e-mail]

Music           - Public Domain
Sound           - Phil Mosley and Graham Crockford
Graphics        - Graham Crockford
Soundtracker    - Pheonix/Quantum ©1994
Draw renderer   - Dave Lawrence
Playtesting     - Phil Mosley      Jonathan Hall
                  Simon Jones      Alasdair Bailey

If you are using !Edit, and there are a load of [09]'s in this document, go
to the Edit menu and click on 'Expand Tabs'.


Introduction
============================================================================
Holocaust is a multiplayer player sideways-view tanks game. Use up to 22
different weapons, and a host of accessories, shielding and more to blow up
your enemies without getting blown up yourself. Firing consists of pointing
your tank's turret in the desired direction and clicking on OK. You also set up
the power of the shot, and whether or not to use a variety of extras you can
tack onto the weapon, not to mention moving about (using fuel), using
parachutes to prevent rather embarrassing falls, your shields, and best of
all, the weapon itself.
It is possible to play with up to 4 players, any of which can be computer or
human controlled.

If you're the sort of person that needs a storyline, imagine you're all mad
people in tanks who want to kill each other to satisfy their vile craving for
blood.

The mouse.....

 SELECT - activates, cycles and increases values.
 MENU   - INCREASES THE RATE of adjustment using SELECT or ADJUST
simultaneously. That is, if you are increasing the amount of money to start
with, holding SELECT will increase slowly, holding down SELECT+MENU will
increase rapidly. Can also be used most of the time in replacement of SELECT
if you like to spread your button usage over the whole mouse.
 ADJUST - decreases values.

The keys.....

 H    - Display on-screen help
 Q      - During game: Suicide (kills current player)
      In shop: Quits to menu
 C    - If pressed while in the shop, brings up the 'Enter Name' screen,
         allowing a player to change his/her name, take over from a computer
         player, or give control of your tank to a computer player mid-way
         through a match.
 S      - If pressed in the shop, saves the game state for you to return to
         later.
 SPACE    - Powers cruise missile
 ESCAPE - Quits to desktop at any time


The menu
============================================================================

START        -starts the game
OPTIONS        -go to the options menu
PLAYERS        -click SELECT to cycle between 2,3 or 4
GAMES        -number of games to a match, Between 1 and 19.
GAME MODE    -select ARCADE or CAMPAIGN mode. In campaign mode, you buy
        all your weaponry, shields and accessories, and have full
        control over how they are used. Also, you can customise
        many aspects of the game. Not for the beginner.
         In ARCADE mode, much of the more complex features of the game
        are sorted out for you.
SAVE OPTIONS    -makes all your settings the default.
QUIT            -quits.


OPTIONS....
___________________________________________________

SOUND VOLUME    -SELECT and ADJUST decrease and increase.
BANTER        -Do you want the players to hurl abuse at each other?
TRAILS            -Do you want the weapons to leave smoke trails?
MUSIC        -Never, on the menus and between games, or all the time?
  TUNE        -The tune to play during games (if MUSIC is ON). Select
        between 'Axel F' and 'Smooth Criminal'.

  These options are only available in campaign mode.
  --------------------------------------------------
    ARMS LEVEL    -Small weapons or Big weapons. If small weapons is
            set, only the cheap weapons and accessories are
            available.
    PREFERENCES...    -leads to another options menu
  --------------------------------------------------

<< MAIN MENU    -Return to main menu.


LANDSCAPE... (only accessible in campaign mode)
___________________________________________________

WALLS        -Make the screen edges one of these exciting materials:
            Wraparound
            Rubber
            Concrete
            No walls
            Random selection of the above

SETTING        -The mountains, the Gorilla City, the grasslands, or the
        Dustbowl.
         -The mountains are the traditional tanks setup.
         -The gorilla city is a skyscraper scene in the tradition of
          'Gorillas'
         -The grasslands is a lemmings-style dirt-with-grass-on-top
          scene
         -The dustbowl is a simple desert scene - no hiding, it's an
          all-out blast fest.

TERRAIN        -If the landscape chosen is Mountains or Grasslands, this
will set the severity of the terrain.

TIMED GOES    -On or off. Do you want to set a time limit on how long you
        have to take a shot?
  TIME ALLOWED    -If 'TIMED GOES' is on, this is the time allowed.

PLAY ORDER      -Winner first, Loser first and Random.

WIND        -Do you want variable wind to affect weapon trajectories?

<< OPTIONS    -Return to options menu.


The shop
============================================================================
As Blue Monday plays, take your pick from our fabulous range of weapons of
death and destruction. Death ricti and agonised screams guaranteed.
They are sorted into low grade and high grade weapons. The low grade weapons
are not just cut down versions of the bigger ones - they also include weapons
which do no actual damage but are useful for getting you out of a scrape. If
SMALL WEAPONS is set in campaign mode, you will only be allowed access to the
low grade ones.
Buy weapons with SELECT and/or MENU (if you have loads of money). Change
between weapons screens by clicking on the large icon in the bottom-right
hand corner of the screen. When you have chosen your weapons, click on OK to
go to the accessories screen, which works in the same way.

Pressing 'Q' whilst in the shop quits the current game and returns to the
main menu. If pressed during play, it kills the current player.
Pressing 'H' at any time during the game or in the shop brings up the
online help. Whilst playing, this is the full concise instructions. Whilst
in the shop, it is just the complete rundown of the weapons.
Pressing 'C' whilst in the shop allows you to takeover from a computer player,
let the computer takeover your player, and change your name.
Pressing 'S' whilst in the shop saves the game state allowing you to return
to it at any time (provided you do not save another game over it)


THE MEATY DETAILS....
___________________________________________________

THE CHEAP ONES

Missile-    The bog standard, you are given a full complement of these
    at the start of every game. (2% damage)

Heavy missile-    A souped up missile. (20% damage)

Acid rain-    When this hits the top of its arc, it explodes
    into 5 pieces of shrapnel, which fall causing damage. (4% each)

Riot bomb-    A heavy missile that defies gravity. Impossible in terms
    of physics, but effective with rubber walls. (20% damage)

The burial-    Does no damage but when it hits, it encases your enemy (or
    yourself) in dirt, with a little grass on top. This is useful for
    tactical reasons.

Chainsaw-    Tunnels out a passage to your left or right, depending on
    where your turret is pointing. Also does (40% damage).

Napalm-        This evil burning substance flows over the landscape,
    filling up crevices and holes. Especially in your enemy. Get too
    much of this on you and you'll be dead in no time. It is released
    when the missile hits something.

Wicked wheel-    It's wicked, and it's on wheels. If this lands on a down
    slope or on a flat section, it will roll along until it hits
    something, and then.... (20% damage)

Concrete tomb-    Similar in its effects to the Burial, but flows gooily over
    the landscape. There is rather a lot of it in one missile.

Seismic disruptor- causes an earth tremor, throwing all the opposing tanks
    around. If they're near a precipice, throwing them off could kill
    them, but it does no actual damage in itself. To decide which
    direction to throw your opponents in, point your turret in the
    direction you want to send them.

Graviton beam-  Increases the gravity until the player's next turn. It makes
    weapons almost impossible to fire. (Try a Guy Fawkes with it on)

Cruise missile- Once it is fired, it travels like a normal missile, doing
    (50% damage). The difference is, for 5 seconds after firing, pressing
    <SPACE> will fire booster rockets underneath, holding it up.


THE MEATY STUFF: (expensive!)

Plasma cloud-    Electromagnetic pulses are thrown out from your tank, doing
    (60% damage). Uses up fuel depending on the power used. Any power
    setting above 320 makes no difference, but below this, the higher it
    is, the greater the radius of the pulses.

Guy fawkes-    When it lands, throws out missiles with random powers.
    Could kill someone very easily, but then again, it could miss, it
    could hit you, and it may not be powerful enough. (10-100% damage)

Diablo -    The wicked wheel with a more powerful charge. (60% damage)

The Nuke -    Absolutely huge explosion, does (80% damage)....

Heavy riot bomb - High power riot bomb. (60% damage)

Hot napalm -    Napalm, but it's more powerful, and there's a more of it.

Death's Head -    The acid rain, with one extra missile and enough power to
    knock out even the sturdiest of shield technology. You do pay for
    it though. (6 x 17% damage)

The Rage -    Fires a self-replicating ball of protomatter. Powered by its
    flight, it grows larger and larger as it flies, sucking shield
    energy from any tank it passes. HINT: Best fired at a distance.

Airstrike -    3 planes fly overhead, dropping very heavy bombs. For
    25 grand, you can get almost everyone on screen killed.
    Unfortunately this includes you, so find some shelter.

Shield piercer - For 50 big ones, you get this laser technology item. If
    it hits your enemy directly, it WILL kill them - it's just.. can
    you afford to risk missing?

Summoning  -     Summon the forces of evil. They will do your bidding, for a
    price - $100,000. THIS WEAPON IS ONLY AVAILABLE IF YOU ARE BEING BADLY
    BEATEN.


ACCESSORIES: (Only appears in campaign mode - in arcade mode, it is all sorted
              out for you)

SHIELDING - essential. Available in 3 flavours,
    the 50% protection budget model (light shielding),
    the 75% protection force field (energy shielding)
   and the only solution for a heavy weapons match -
    the 100% protection heavy duty HEAVY SHIELDING, which will defend you
against practically anything for a short time.

If you don't use shields, even a hit from a $100 missile will kill you.

FUEL: Essential again. You need this to move your tank around. A full tank
should take you across the whole screen twice. It is also used as power for
such weapons as the Plasma Cloud.

PARACHUTES: These will protect you against falls - for example the Nuke
knocks out a hole below you, which you fall into. If you don't have
parachutes on, this fall combined with the power of the Nuke will kill you
instantly. Also you may have to drop while moving.

WARHEADS: As yet, only one is available, but these are add-ons to missiles
which make them have slightly different effects - possibly to your advantage.
They are all USE ONCE ONLY DEVICES, although you can buy as many as you like
(or can afford). They consist of:
    CONTACT TRIGGER - If the weapon is of the sort that explodes, this
will prevent it doing so if it is not close enough to an enemy. It is a crude
form of safety trigger.

TARGETING SYSTEMS: Your tank is normally fitted with the basic HGB (Human
Gunner Based) system. In practice, this means that your gun may be only
accurate to within 5° of your stipulated angle. There are 3 targeting systems
on the market which can improve this. Once installed, they need not be
replenished or replaced:
    -OPTICAL SIGHTING uses a traditional telescopic high-definition lens
to allow the human operator to target to within 3°.
    -LASER SIGHTING uses motion control to take over the actual physical
control from a human gunner. The upshot of this is very accurate shots -
within a single degree.
    -COMPUTER SIGHTING calculates the angle, taking into account all
atmospheric conditions, roll-trajectory from the gun barrel and all other
forces acting on the projectile. 100% accurate targeting, but you do pay for
it.

GWC SYSTEM- A very expensive piece of military hardware which will compensate
for wind and the relative effects of gravity on all shots - the practical
upshot being that wind has no effect and heavier weapons have the same air
buoyancy as the basic Missile. As with targeting systems, is a buy-once item.




THE GAME
============================================================================
The toolbar, from left to right, top to bottom:

FIRE -            Fire the weapon. Also shows time left when yo are
using limited time.
SHEILD TYPE ICON -    Select type of shielding for recharging.
RECHARGE SHIELDS ICON -    Clicking on this recharges your shields with the type
shown. The left hand number is the number of this type of shielding available
in your inventory, and the right hand number is your current shield status.
WEAPON TYPE ICON -    Cycle through your available weapons.
WEAPON AMMO INDICATOR - Shows the ammo available in the type of weapon shown.
PARACHUTE ICON -    Toggles parachutes ON/OFF. If they are ON, one will
be deducted from your inventory every time you click on OK, and will be
active until your next go.
PARACHUTES INDICATOR -     Shows the number of parachutes in your inventory.
WARHEAD ICON -        Cycles between warheads. You need not use one.
WARHEAD INDICATOR -    Shows numbers of selected the type of warhead in your
inventory.
ANGLE -         Between 0° and 180°. SELECT increases, ADJUST
decreases, MENU speeds up. Your gun turret will move to indicate the angle.
POWER -            Works in the same way as the angle indicator.

STATUS BAR -        Shows the name, cash and points of the player.
TARGETING SYSTEM-    Shows the targeting system being used.
CONTROL SYSTEM-        HOLOCAUST SYSTEM (the basic system) or GWC SYSTEM.


HOW TO PLAY...
__________________________________

1.    IN CAMPAIGN MODE ONLY, You are all given one round to set up shields
and parachutes, etc. Clicking on OK simply takes you to the next player. In
ARCADE mode, all this is done for you before play begins.

1/2.    The game cycles through each player in turn, giving them a chance to
use a weapon, and recharge shields, move about, etc. If someone is killed,
they are summarily removed from that game, although they are reinstated in
the next game.

2/3.    Between games, each player is given interest on their existing money,
and paid an award depending on the position they finished in. This is $100000
for the winner (or 4th killed), $80000 for 3rd killed (4 player only), $60000
for 2nd killed (3+ player only), and $40000 for first killed. Use this prize
money to buy new stuff at the shop between games.




HINTS 'n' TIPS
============================================================================

-    Don't spend all your money at once. You'll be surprised how little
you actually need in one game, and the more money you have left over, the
more interest you get.
-    Buy plenty of shielding - if it's reduced to a one-on-one standoff,
it may be a case of whose shield supplies run out first.
-    Use 'Missiles' to target your enemy for, for example, the shield
piercer, which costs too much to miss with.
-    If you are buried, use either the chainsaw or the missile to get out.
Anything bigger will hurt you as well as digging you out.
-    Always have parachutes on when you are at any height. However, if
you are very close to the bottom of the screen, you can't drop far enough
to hurt you, so switch them off and save $300 a go (only really applies to
CAMPAIGN MODE)
-    Watch and see if a player forgets to put their parachutes on. Without
them, a Nuke can cause some serious carnage.
-    Don't get too close to someone who's about to die - when they blow
up, the explosion has a hefty punch.
-    If you find yourself in a small hole (ideal napalm fodder), bury
yourself and tunnel out with a chainsaw - that way you should be safer from
napalm attacks.
-    If you realise that you have just been targeted for a shield
piercer, and cannot move, you can 1) bury yourself, 2) bury your enemy,
or 3) nuke your enemy (he will fall into the hole and lose his firing line)
-    Try and keep your opponent moving if possible - they can't get a good
firing line.
-    Stay on high ground, preferably with drops on either side - you are
then Napalm-proof and a lone target (they have to hit you dead-on to cause any
damage)
-    The computer players are not stupid. They rarely make mistakes, and
will pounce on you if you make the slightest mistake. Play them as you would
play a skilled human opponent.
-    Use the Summoning as a last ditch attempt - it is only available when
you are in last place.


DIRTY TACTICS from Graham - ways to kill someone quick

STRATEGY 1: Close up demonic rain shots at low angles prevent the missiles
from spreading, and if they all hit, you can kill someone. The BEST way is,
when walls are set to rubber, to face them at the bottom of the screen, and
release it at a flat angle and just enough power to counter any wind - every
one will hit them.

STRATEGY 2: Don't target your shield piercer with a small missile - it's
instantly obvious what you're up to. Instead, use a heavy missile or wicked
wheel - at least they have a little credibility.

STRATEGY 3: Bury someone with a Burial or concrete tomb. They may try and
blast their way out with missiles. If they do, you will be probably
presented with a tank in a small, enclosed hole, which you should then
fill up with napalm or hot napalm.

STRATEGY 4: Find some shelter (preferably plenty of it) and use the aerial
attack. It takes all 3 airstrikes to kill you, so if one doesn't get you,
you'll survive.

STRATEGY 5: If somebody has some landscape towering up on one side of them
and a rubber wall on the other, you can often kill them by dropping a Guy
fawkes in there.

STRATEGY 6: Form temporary alliances with other players to wipe out one of
the others. Without a chance to recharge their shields between attacks,
they can be killed easily.

STRATEGY 7: Form two alliances, let them both shoot each other, and then
kill them both. Haha.

STRATEGY 8: If you are losing a match badly, try and buy a Summoning - you will
win a game giving you valuable money and points.

FOR ADDED SPICE.....

Have 2 players, with 2 tanks each. When the match is over, add your scores to
decide the winner.
 THIS CAN LEAD TO SERIOUS BLASTFESTS.